Pilot and influencer Ethan Guo left Antarctic air base after 2 months

Audio By Carbonatix

PUNTA ARENAS, Chile (AP) — An American social media influencer who was stuck in a Chilean airbase in Antarctica for two months and initially charged for submitting a false flight plan, on Saturday returned to the mainland.

Ethan Guo, who was 19 years old when he began his fundraising mission for cancer research, was attempting to become the youngest person to fly solo to all seven continents.

But he was briefly detained after Chilean authorities said he lied to officials by providing authorities with “false flight plan data.” Prosecutors said he had been authorized to only fly over Punta Arenas in southern Chile, but that he kept going south, heading for Antarctica in his Cessna 182Q — a single-engine light aircraft known for its versatility.

Authorities said that they authorized him to land in a Chilean airbase in Antarctica only because he reported an emergency.

After he landed in Chile’s Antarctic territory on June 28, he was briefly arrested and later released. He remained at the Chilean Air Force base, however. He was not forced to stay there, only to remain in Chilean territory, but because of the severe winter in that part of the southern hemisphere, no flights were available. He was also unable to fly his small plane.

Guo, who is originally from Tennessee and turned 20 in July, spent two months living in the base with limited communications and freezing Antarctic winter temperatures plunging below zero.

A Chilean judge dropped the charges against him after reaching an agreement to avoid a trial, which included that he give a $30,000 donation to a children’s cancer foundation within 30 days and leave the country as soon as possible. He is also banned from entering Chilean territory for three years.

The influencer’s lawyer, Jaime Barrientos, told The Associated Press that Guo landed because he had to divert his aircraft due to poor weather conditions, and that he did receive authorization from Chilean authorities.

“To his surprise, when he was about to take off back to Punta Arenas he was arrested, in a process that from my perspective was a total exaggeration,” Barrientos said.

Barrientos said he was happy with the agreement struck with authorities.

Guo arrived Saturday at Punta Arenas aboard a navy ship wearing a Chilean national soccer team jersey and appeared friendly with the press after disembarking, describing his detention as a “mundane” experience with “limited freedoms.”

“The Chilean people have been incredibly hospitable, they’ve been fantastic people. They’ve taken care of me. They’ve taught me Spanish, and they’ve treated me like family,” he said.

___

This story was first published on Sept. 6, 2025. It was updated on Sept. 7, 2025 to correct that American pilot and influencer Ethan Guo was not ordered by a Chilean judge to pay $30,000 in penalties. In fact, he had agreed to give a $30,000 donation to a children’s cancer foundation within 30 days to avoid a trial.